It has been a tough start to managerial life for former Tottenham and Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham, with his new Stevenage charges without a win in the first four matches of the 2015/6 season. The latest match saw Boro’ go down to a three-goal defeat at Leyton Orient, a team who were relegated from League One and who are, admittedly, ranked among the favourites for promotion.
In his post-match interview with BBC Three Counties Radio, Sheringham said a time had come for “perhaps no more ‘Mr Nice Guy‘” and enjoying the surroundings; maybe some home truths and sorting things out”. The Premier League legend also underlined the importance of concentration during football matches and remaining “very professional, resilient and switched on for 90 minutes”.
It takes resilience and concentration to win three Premier League championships, the UEFA Champions League and more than 50 England caps, but the football pitch isn’t the only place you need these qualities. As Sheringham himself will have found out after hanging up his boots, you require high levels of resilience and concentration if you’re to find success when you sit down to the poker table.
Both on the pitch and at the table, football and poker share a common need to adapt, strategise and find out how best to get the better of opponents. A focused mind can help to keep mistakes at a minimum and improve your chances at success. On the football field, it can be critical when you are under fierce pressure during the dying moments of a crunch game and the ball is flying around your area.
In a similar manner, poker players have to be switched on at all times – knowing when best to play and when to fold. That’s the case if you’re sitting at a virtual table provided by casino.netbet.co.uk or if you’re taking part in a European Poker Tour Main Event. Card sharks work through every call, looking for the traps and making the best possible judgement call based on the information to hand. Literally.
So, if Teddy Sheringham says his players “need to get accustomed to what it takes to win football matches – get ruthless with each other”, it’s because he knows what it takes to succeed – both in football and in poker. Sometimes that success doesn’t come from the biggest hands or the most goals – it comes from concentrating on what you and your opponents are doing, reacting to situations and putting own strategy into action.
